The Traveling Sound Museum

Imagine that you could listen to any sound, from any place, from any TIME in the history of the world...

The Traveling Sound Museum is a faux-historical narrative project that is inspired by man’s fascination with collecting and cataloguing natural and artificial objects, specifically with regards to 16th – 18th century Wonder Cabinets or Wunderkammer, as well as by more recent trends in art and media theory surrounding museums and their portrayal of “truth”. The premise of the project is that pre 19th century sound was not actually lost to time, rather, man has had the ability to capture sounds in jars or other vessels since a happy accident of science in the 7th century. Since that time, a long, splintered, haphazard line of collectors have been capturing the sounds of the world as though they were butterflies, flowers, or the latest mechanical device.

The Traveling Sound Museum consists of an antique cart on which are installed a half dozen mason jars, each containing carefully concealed sound circuitry, a battery, and a speaker. The user takes a jar off the cart, unscrews the lid, and holds it up to their ear. Each jar contains a different faux-historical soundscape recording and the overall mood of the piece is heavily influenced by the traveling salesman archetype as portrayed in film and literature depicting 19th century Americanna. The aim of the work is to present a completely fantastical collection in a deadpan and earnest manner, to raise questions about museums, collections, and institutional truth and honesty. There is also a playful aspect of the work that I hope instills in the end user a sense of wonder and imagination that is so often removed from the modern day scientific and museum communities.

BackgroundThe overall mood of the piece is heavily influenced by the traveling salesman archetype of 19th century American backwater. The aim of the work is to present a completely fantastical collection in a deadpan and earnest manner, to raise questions about museums, collections, and institutional truth and honesty. There is also a playful aspect of the work that instills in the end user a sense of wonder and imagination that is so often absent from modern day new media work.

Audience
Anyone who believes there is more wonder in the world than it tends to get credit for.

Implementation
The Traveling Sound Museum consists of an old fashion cart on which are installed a collection of mason jars, each containing carefully concealed sound circuitry, a battery, and a speaker. These elements are hidden under burlap and other ancient materials. The user takes a jar off the cart, unscrews the lid, and holds it up to their ear. Each jar contains a different faux-historical soundscape recording.